Speakers 2016

8th - 9th March 2016

Davide Neri

Director, WASProject, Italy

Davide Neri is an enlightened and resilient innovator who has contributed to the development of a number of ground breaking advanced technological solutions that blurr the lines between the physical, digital, and biological space. Today, his main goal is to explore how digital technologies can interact with the biological world on a daily basis, combining computational design, additive manufacturing and materials engineering to pioneer a symbiosis between our bodies, the products we consume, and even the buildings we inhabit.

In just 3 short years, WASP (World Advanced Savings Project) has realised its vision of scaling-up 3D printing technologies with additive natural materials to tackle everyday human problems around the world. Starting with affordable housing, they created one of the world’s largest 3D printers to solve the world’s housing issues by creating clay houses that are affordable, rapidly erected, sustainable and most importantly, safe. The system has been developed so that they are able to 3D print in any scenario or environment, including even the most extreme conditions. This achievement required a completely new way of approaching design and engineering; ‘building big ’with additive materials to manufacture these houses required out of the box thinking with tried, tested, and tried again research, investigation and a complete overhaul of the manufacturing/design norm. One of the biggest challenges overcame was how to find the right systems and software to handle the materials whilst ensuring speed, quality and safety.

Now, with the project up and running, WASP has shown what is possible with additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The technology they developed is open and affordable to ordinary people so that we can create everyday essentials for ourselves from cheap materials like sand, water, clay and straw, thus creating a new economy that is driven by what society needs to work, when it needs it. Described as 'maker approach’, innovation is placed in the hands of the engineers, scientists and communities instead of the slow-paced, red-tape world of politics, finance and management.

Presented by one of the key project managers, this session will discuss what can be achieved through innovation, technology, science and collaboration. A momentous turning point in what manufacturing can deliver when we think out of the box and experiment to develop sustainable models and systems to advance life changing projects globally. Now that the dream of building affordable housing has been realised,WASP are investigating how their technology can be used to solve other everyday afflictions around the world.

WASP are pushing the possibilities of technology, design and engineering; be inspired by their teamwork, vision and goal to ensure equal opportunities that will relaunch a ‘new’ economy from the bottom up.